You can't over kill mature bucks!!! Shooting mature bucks only is the only way to guarantee that you will always have mature bucks to shoot!

But there lies the problem. Most pine plantations around me owned by individuals are properly managed. But corporate owned plantations are only managed for the trees only, not to include wildlife. Around me, those plantations make up the vast majority of leases. Hunters are very limited in their efforts here.

As a small landowner it would be nice if it was changed so that maybe my grandkids could actually hunt deer with the legitimate hope of seeing deer on the 96 acres I live on, but as a hunter I have given up on the State to make any reasonable limits on does in any reasonable time. Therefore I have managed my lease in my own way and after almost a decade of almost no does being killed we finally are starting to get back to having a decent population, but I started driving almost 8 hours so I could hunt somewhere I could consistently see deer while I hunt. Notice I didn�t say kill because for me actually seeing deer is more important than actually killing deer for me at this stage.

Yea I don't like the idea either

I don�t know how many times this has to be said before people start believing it lol

Agree, I don't know where folks get the idee that Jackson Co. has a bunch of deer, we have hardwoods.

And a bunch of deer.

What restrictions.

That is about what I figured.

I'm against antler restrictions. Let's keep going with what we have now, it's light years ahead of what we once had.

AR's in Texas are interesting
https://tpwd.texas.gov/regulations/outdoor-annual/regs/animals/white-tailed-deer

I'm still against ARs for Alabama.

41/2 year old and better statewide or cull bucks! Suit me fine!!!!! Get sick and tired of seeing little young bucks killed. Everyone wants an opportunity at nice deer and get excited when they see others killing good deer. Well most of those consistently killing good deer are more n likely on a good management plan where they hunt. If everyone would get on board statewide, how sweet would that be to see lots of nice bucks on a consistent basis. I just don�t get it !

I hate to keep harping on the doe killing and low numbers, but the bucks are only going to get smaller if the deer numbers stay this low. When you hunt almost every weekend and see 2 or 3 deer in a season, well that hunter is probably going to kill anything he sees, regardless of whether it's a 4 point. The hunters who see 10+ deer every hunt will never understand what the rest of us are talking about.

They won't understand if they have never hunted in those places where there are very few deer. I have hunted in those places. I won't ever do it again, if the only places I could hunt or afford to hunt was those places I would just quit and fish year round.

All good with antler restrictions except for youth/ first time hunters.

X 2. We don't have written restrictions where I hunt. The landowner makes the rules, as he should. The unwritten rules for bucks are if you've never killed a buck before, the first one is your choice, but we encourage it to not be a spike. Not because we have a problem with them killing a spike, but that ruins your shot at a better buck. For experienced guests we say something that you want to mount. For super experienced and knowledgeable guests, and ourselves that regularly hunt it, we can just tell them 3.5-4.5 and older. For those just wanting meat, does are plentiful.

Antler restrictions work. They have for us anyways. I'll let the biologists debate about how well it would work statewide, but I can't see it as a bad thing. How has it worked out in Bullock County? Wasn't that supposed to be the experiment to determine if it should be expanded?

I'm never surprised at the number of "conservatives" who are for more government rules and regulations when it suits them, i.e. for deer hunting so "everyone" can hunt the same way.

"Drain the swamp!" conservatives who supposedly want to live their own lives are happy telling everyone else how to hunt. SMDH

In favor of antler restrictions. No doubt it has helped areas that have implemented. Only exception should be youth hunts, with a recommendation of more youth hunt opportunities. Maybe making it a week or 10 days instead of a weekend.

Well, you do make an interesting point if nothing else.

If you don't want to shoot small bucks or bucks with basket racks or 2-points on one side or whatever, don't do it.

Mandating something so "everyone can shoot a big buck because 'everyone' wants to!" is idiotic, though. And wrong. Prove that biologically in wild herds it is beneficial and that's fine IF that's what the public wants - and not just a tiny fraction of the most squeaky-wheel moneyed connected public.

This is what often is said: "We're hearing from the public that they want more opportunities for mature bucks and so we're implementing this now."

This is what should be said: "We're hearing from a wide range of hunters for and against, but because "mature bucks" generate money, tourism and license sales not to mention sales of gear and "deer corn" and whatnot, we're going to go with the comments of those hunters in favor of more restrictions and QDM mentality over the everyday hunter who isn't "avid" and, well, really isn't part of the equation."

Because that's what the perception is by many.

Agreed